What attracts you to metal as a medium?
The main thing is that metal can be used for both decoration and construction. I would describe it as a very honest material in its anatomy; you can’t cheat with it. The range of techniques is so stunning that a whole life is not enough to explore them all.
What are your most unorthodox works?
Perhaps the Amber Hunters, a 2m high composition created for a blacksmith festival at the Amber Museum in Kaliningrad and inspired by an ancient engraving that shows sailors trying to lift amber from the bottom of the sea with a long butterfly net.
Dmitry Ternovoy © Michelangelo Foundation
How long does it take to create a work?
Each case is inexplicable magic: sometimes a month is enough, while at other times you need a whole year or more to complete a project. That happens when you have to start over a few times, until your ideas take their real shape.
What inspires your work?
Life! And the most unlikely sources. One of my mentors, Valentin Kochenkov, once joked that when creating a piece of jewellery one should look at a toilet bowl. This metaphor may sound rough but it tells a precious truth: the more unlikely the inspiration, the more exciting the resulting piece will be!